Saw cotton-gin



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SAW COTTON GIN.

N0. 307,790. Patented NOV. 11, 1884.

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(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 2.-

Z. P. NANCE. SAW COTTON GIN.

Patented Nov. 11, 1884.

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PATENT SAW COTTON-GIN.

SPECEPZCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,790, dated November 11, 188%.

Application filed January 10, 1834.

To all whom, it'may concern.-

Be it known that I, ZAOHARIAH F. NANCE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eufaula, in the county of Barbour and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Saw Cotton-Gins; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. v

This invention relates to saw cotton-gins, and has for its object to provide a novel construction of an adjustable breast or grid, between the ribs of which the saws operateiu such a manner that the lint or fiber is drawn through without being cut or injured, as in ordinary gins, the friction caused by the drawing through of the lint or fiber being reduced to a minimum, thus lightening the draft of the gin and increasing its capacity for work.

Another feature of the invention is the combination, with the adjustable breast or grid, of secondary ribs located in rear of the ribs composing the adjustable breast, and arranged so as to extend under the rotating strippingbrush. The object of these secondary ribs is to brace the main ribs and straighten out the fiber and dust the cotton as the stripping brush removes it from the saws operating between the main and secondary ribs and passes it out through the gin-flue.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a cotton-gin embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a front view of the adjustable gin-breast and the cotton or roll box in which it is fitted. Fig. 3 is a front View of one of the main ribs, showing the notches in its edges for the free passage of the lint or cotton. Fig. 4 is a side view of said rib, showing a recess or seat formed therein for the reception of the upper end of the secondary or brace rib.

The letter A represents the frame of a cotton-gin, in which is journaled a shaft, B, earrying a series of saws, O; and D designates the rotating stripping-brush, the shaft of which is parallel with the saw-shaft, andE is the cot- (No model.)

ton delivery or discharge flue located beyond said strippingbru'sh. The cotton or roll box (designated by the letter F) is hinged at its upper end to the frame or casing of the gin, as is shown at f, so that it can be raised when desired to gain access to the saws.

The above parts being of the usual construe tion, a more specific description thereof is not requisite.

Inside the cotton or roll box F is arranged an independent and adj ust-able frame, G, that carries a series of ribs, H, constituting the breast or grid of the cotton-gin. This frame G is hung on trunnions or pivot-pins g, passing through the side boards of the cotton or roll box, and is supported at its upper end by a stop ledge or shoulder, f, at the top of the rests or abuts upon a transverse bottom bar, f, of the roll-box, and is held by set-screws R. The frame G can turn with or upon the trunnions 9, located in linewith the saw-teeth, and is capable of being moved in a direction forward to or backward from the saws that operate between the ribs H, carried by said frame. In other words, the frame G and the breast or grid formed by the ribs H can be adj usted or moved toward the front or rear wall of the cotton or roll box, so as to cause the saws to project more or less. into said rollbox.

The trunnions or pivots 9 may be in the form of screws that enter screw-threaded metal plates on the side bars of the frame G, and have smooth shanks turning in openings in the side walls of the roll-box.

The set-screwsR, for holding the frame G in a locked position, extend through the base of the roll-box and bear upon the bottom bar of the frame G; or, if desired, the bottom bar of said frame may have corrugated plates which engage with corresponding plates on the roll-box, these plates being brought together by suitable setscrews, so as to hold the frame G and gin-breast in different positions in relation to the saws and the front wall of the roll-box.

At the points of the ribs H where the lint passes through, or where the teeth of the saws operate, are formed notches or recesses h, which are set at an angle or slantin a downward diroll-box, and the lower end of said frame G ICO rection-that is, downward from the outer edge of the rib in toward its center-as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. These notches or recesses, arranged one on each side or edge of the ribs H, are of the .same width as the sawteeth, so that the points of said teeth may be in line with the upper edges of said recesses when the bases of the teeth are in line with the lower edges of the recesses. The object of these notches or recesses is to preserve the staple of the cotton, as the latter can pass freely through said notches, and is not liable to choke or become wedged between the side edges of the ribs and the saws. as in cottongins of the ordinary construction, or at the bottoms of the notches. The notches being inclined in the direction of the rotation of the saws-that is, upward from the centers of the ribsout toward the edges-there is no tendency for the cotton to wedge in or clog at the bottoms or inner endsof the notches, as would be the case if the notches had an upward inclination from the edges of the ribs in toward the centers of the same, and as sometimes happens when the notches are made horizontal, or at right angles to the center lines of the ribs. The free or easypassage of the cotton through the breast or grid also serves to lighten the draft of a gin having the notched ribs herein described, and for this reason the working capacity of such a gin is materially increased.

In order to give the requisite degree of strength to the main ribs constituting the breast or grid, and for efiecting the straightening out of the lint and the removal of dust and other impurities therefrom, I locate in rear of said main ribs a series of secondary ribs, K,wl1ich are curved in substantially the manner shown, and are bolted or otherwise attached at their lower ends to a cross-bar, L, arranged beneath the rotary stripping-brush D. These secondary ribs constitute a grate that extends from a point beneath the stripping-brush between the saws and terminates in rear of the main ribs or ginbreast, immediately beneath the notched parts thereof, Where the cotton is drawn through by the saws.

In order to cause said main ribs to be properly supported or braced by the secondary ribs, I provide said main ribs with notches or seats h in their rear edges, as is shown in Fig. 4, said notches serving for the reception of the upper ends of the secondary ribs, and being sufficiently long to allow the gin-breast to be adjusted without disengaging the main and secondary ribs.

It will be evident from the above description that the cotton or lint is drawn through the breast or between the notched main ribs by the action of the saws and falls upon the surfaces of the secondary ribs facing the stripping-brush, and the lint is by said secondary ribs and the stripping-brush straightened out and dusted as it is taken from the saws.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a saw cotton-gin, the combination of a pivoted or adjustable breast or saw-grid, pivoted on bearings at the sides of the same,

with the cotton or roll box, the saws, and suitable means for holding the breast at different points between said saws and the front or rear wall of the cotton or roll box, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In a saw cotton-gin, the combination of the stationary secondary ribs extending from beneath the stripping-brush to the gin-breast, with said stripping-brush, the cotton or roll box, the main frame or casing, the saws, and the gin-breast, substantially as herein set forth.

3. A rib for saw cotton-gins, having notches or recesses h slanting slightly upward from its center and out to its edges, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

4:. In a saw cotton-gin, the combination of the adjustable gin-breast or main ribs having notches in their rear edges, and the stationary secondary ribs fitted in said notched main ribs and passing between the saws under the stripping-brush, with the roll-box, the saws, and the stripping-brush, substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ZAOHARIAI-I F. NANCE.

Witnesses:

A. H. MERRILL,

J. D. ANnRnWs. 

